Freedom

Jesus came to set people free … free from what?  From seeking to establish their own self-righteousness to trusting in Jesus as their righteousness.  The centerpiece of self-righteousness to the Jews of Jesus’ day was bound up in their observation and obedience to the rules surrounding the Sabbath.  Jesus sought to set the people free by lovingly smashing the hope they had placed in their own works, their establishment of a self-centered “day of rest.”  Today, we will see how the healing of a man who had been an invalid for 38 years on the Sabbath creates a situation in which Jesus will His identity, His  authority in the most startling thing they have ever heard … that Jesus is “Lord of the Sabbath.”